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Braised pork belly with Belimbing




Belimbing  ~  Averrhoa Bilimbi  is a greenish, mini fruit which has a very sour taste and can be eaten raw with some sambal belacan, a shrimp paste chilli dip, used in curries or cooked like how I did.  I remember this tree in my grandma's backyard long, long ago and she used to cook this with some onions, preserved bean paste, some red or green chillies and bits of fried pork fat aka as 'chee yau char' in Cantonese.  As a kid, I used to pluck this from the ever flourishing tree and just taste it and gosh, it's awfully sour!  Read more of this  Belimbing from Wiki ......



Here's a picture of Belimbing





I haven't had this dish for a long, long time and when I served this on the dining table, my other half  asked me what it was ..... he had never tasted this before but commented it did go well with white rice.

Recipe for Braised pork belly with Belimbing

Ingredients
  • 600 gm pork belly, cut into bite size  
  • 4 pieces belimbing, sliced thinly
  • 2 pips garlic, chopped
  • 1  Tbsp tau cheong/fermented bean paste
  • 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
  • 1 green chili, sliced
  • 1 big onion, cut into wedges
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tsp sugar or to taste
  • Seasalt to taste
Preparation

  1. Marinate the pork belly with some seasalt, set aside.
  2. Saute the chopped garlic and fermented bean paste with some oil till fragrant.
  3. Add in the pork belly, stir-fry for a while and add in 2 cups water and dark soya sauce.
  4. Bring to the boil, lower heat, cover and simmer till meat is tender and the stock reduced.
  5. Add in the sliced belimbing, sugar and stir-fry for a while.  
  6. Add in the sliced green chilli and onion wedges, stir-fry.  Fine tune to taste.
  7. Dish out and serve with white rice or plain white porridge.




I'm linking this entry with Weekend Herb Blogging # 333 hosted by
Cindy of  Cindystar
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Comments

  1. Shu HanMay 10, 2012 at 11:36 PM

    wahhh I'm salivating already! I love braised pork belly, all that tender melting fat yum yum!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 11, 2012 at 4:44 PM

      I'll always discard the fat and savour the lean meat only!

      Delete
  2. Biren @ Roti n RiceMay 11, 2012 at 10:40 AM

    Yes, I do remember this dish. Can't even remember when was the last time I had belimbing. I guess it is not commonly found in the markets these days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 11, 2012 at 4:45 PM

      You're right Biren. This is only sold at the wet market, most of it is home grown.

      Delete
  3. elaine chanMay 11, 2012 at 10:47 AM

    Hello,
    Yes, that was the way my late mother used to serve us with the belimbing too with the beanpaste and chee yau char!those were the days!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 11, 2012 at 4:46 PM

      Nostalgic, right? And thanks for dropping by. I just hopped over to yours, interesting!

      Delete
  4. Yummy BakesMay 11, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    Goes very well with rice. What is belimbing? I shall check it out when I next go supermarket?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 11, 2012 at 4:47 PM

      In Cantonese we call it 'sui chai'. Doubt you can find it in the supermarket, we can only buy this from the wet market and it's very cheap.

      Delete
  5. KimmyMay 11, 2012 at 12:43 PM

    Hi Cheah, this must be a 'kocha' dish. Is the taste quite similar to Ayam Sioh or Babi Masak Assam? I like both these 2 dishes but couldn't find the time to cook it. Will try your recipe but must look for the belimbing first. Very appetising.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 11, 2012 at 4:49 PM

      What is 'kocha' dish? A bit similar, sourish, sweetish but no assam added as the belimbing is very sour on its own. On the contrary, need to add in sugar.

      Delete
    2. KimmyMay 13, 2012 at 10:58 PM

      'Kocha' is a Hokkien word. 'Kocha' dish meaning dishes from the olden days - dishes with Grandma or Mama's flavours.

      Delete
    3. Sokehah cheahMay 14, 2012 at 10:44 PM

      I see, I see! Thanks, Kimmy.

      Delete
  6. The SurvivalMay 11, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    Wow, I haven't seem belimbing in a long time! We had one in our garden too and we used to make char with it. Never thought to cook it with pork belly (we did not eat much pork anyway) but it makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 13, 2012 at 10:27 PM

      Yes, this is indeed a country style oldie dish!

      Delete
  7. Angie's RecipesMay 11, 2012 at 4:57 PM

    I am not sure I have ever seen the belimbing before...they look so interesting. The pork dish looks very tasty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 13, 2012 at 10:29 PM

      Thanks Angie. This fruit tree is normally home grown and most probably one may find it in the wet market.

      Delete
  8. ann lowMay 11, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    Love this dish. Hope I can have some :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. JeannieMay 11, 2012 at 11:43 PM

    Yes, they are very sour eaten fresh, I haven't tasted the cooked ones yet, looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  10. mui muiMay 12, 2012 at 9:30 AM

    Hi Cheah, this dish is so yummy.
    I love 'chee yau char' too.
    But don't dare to take too much...as you know it is not so health..lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 13, 2012 at 10:32 PM

      Thanks. I don't fancy 'chee yau char', so have omitted it in my dish. Just like you say, it's unhealthy.

      Delete
  11. ElinMay 13, 2012 at 11:00 AM

    Happy Mother's Day to you and have a blessed day with your family :) this kind of miss this dish..my grandma used to cook this with pork slices...mmm yummy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 13, 2012 at 10:33 PM

      Happy Mother's Day to you too. Yes, only grandmas know how to come up with such dishes!

      Delete
  12. lenaMay 14, 2012 at 9:38 PM

    never tasted belimbing beofre but the way you described the fruit and its taste associate with this dish, it sounds pretty appetising !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 14, 2012 at 10:46 PM

      Maybe, if you were to ask your mum, she'll know.

      Delete
  13. CindystarMay 15, 2012 at 3:12 PM

    I wonder if I could ever have the pleasure to taste Belimbing :-)
    But thanks to you and WHB at least I know a little about it!
    Thanks so much for your lovely recipe, WHB recap will be soon on-line.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My Little SpaceMay 15, 2012 at 3:53 PM

    I'm not sure if I ever tasted this kind of belimbing before. I saw them very often but not sure if I eaten it. Not the sour type, is it?
    Kristy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sokehah cheahMay 15, 2012 at 5:00 PM

      Think it's available in your area, they like to plant this in the kampong. It's super sour!

      Delete

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